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Teens Continue Plea To Buckle Up In Vehicles

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By YVETTE C. HAMMETT

yhammet@tampatrib.com

Published: November 23, 2008

VALRICO - There will always be some who ignore the message.

But this is no time to give up, advocates say.

Dozens of teens continue to pound the message home.

Wearing seat belts saves lives.

The Battle of the Belts, a countywide awareness campaign aimed at increasing use of seat belts among young people, was in full swing last week as high school students made posters, gave speeches and monitored seat belt use in school parking lots.

"We're shooting for the highest impact with our message," and that comes from students talking to other students, said Susan Joel, chairwoman of the Hillsborough Community Traffic Safety Team.

A U.S. government study in 2007 showed that 68 percent of teens killed in nighttime crashes weren't buckled up. During daylight hours, 58 percent of teens killed weren't wearing seat belts.
Motor vehicle crashes are the No. 1 killer of American teens. Eleven teens have lost their lives in traffic wrecks in Hillsborough County this year, according to the traffic safety team. Of those, eight were not buckled up.

Cindy Weatherly is helping. Her 15-year-old daughter, Haley - her only child - died in a car crash three months ago. She was driving with only a learner's permit and not wearing a seat belt.

"If I can reach out and touch one kid, spare one set of parents what I've had to go through," it's worth it, said Weatherly, who spoke Friday to students at Lennard High.

"You think the death of a child is the worst thing," she said. "Then, you have to live with only the memories, the first holidays, the first everything afterward."

"For me, it helps me deal with it," said 15-year-old Lindsay Valdez, whose 17-year-old stepbrother, Tyler Clark, was killed in 2006 when his Jeep's tire bounced off a median and the vehicle rammed a tree.

She helped student government members paint banners to remind Bloomingdale High students to buckle up.

"Consistency is the best thing," said Laura Marchetti of Valrico, whose 16-year-old daughter, Katie, was killed in a crash in 2006. She was not wearing a seat belt, prompting her parents to create the Katie Marchetti Memorial Foundation, pushing for more awareness.

"Nothing is fool-proof," Marchetti said. "But we have to keep at it."

In December, participants in the Battle of the Belts will do another survey to see if seat belt use among their peers has increased as a result of their efforts. Survey results from last year showed seat belt use increased at most schools, but dropped at some.

To find out more about Battle of the Belts and see the results of last year's effort, go to www.battleofthe belts.com.

Reporter Yvette C. Hammett can be reached at (813) 865-1566.

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